


Something Doesn't Add Up

by Hartley_Blaze



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-08 08:16:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21472885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hartley_Blaze/pseuds/Hartley_Blaze
Summary: So, they've defeated Bulshar, only Nicole has a gut feeling something isn't quite right....
Relationships: Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 2
Kudos: 51





	Something Doesn't Add Up

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at Wynonna fanfic, let me know what you think.

**Something Doesn’t Add Up**

**W**averly looked into Nicole Haught’s compassionate brown eyes, her heart galloping wildly like a herd of wild colts. "What I meant before." She looked away, thoughts a mess as she tried to quickly work out what it was she wanted to convey. "Before and now is uhh… I’m not losing anyone else I love today."

"No," Nicole smiled.

Waverly looked down at the large, bold ring on her finger and started slipping it free. "Because I do. I do Nicole really hot. I really, really love you." She slipped the ring onto the redhead’s ring finger and waited for what she hoped was a yes.

Staring from the ring that had become a part of their lives and up into Waverly’s adoring eyes, the new sheriff smiled and tried to make a joke. "And I really really hate this ring."

"Is that a yes?"

Which was when Wynonna interrupted the moment. Not the first time she had done such a thing, and both women suspected not the last.

Without giving an answer, Nicole indicated they should go indoors and see what was so important.

* * * * *

They were all tired, dirty, and filled with a sense of victory. Their ragtag little group had defeated Bulshar, there were no casualties on their side, and now, according to Wynonna, they had earned the right to get shit-face drunk.

Stepping back onto Earp land holding Waverly’s hand, Nicole frowned as she looked at the Earp house ahead of her. "We defeated Bulshar?"

Smiling at her girlfriend, who was utterly adorable when confused, Waverly nodded. "Yes, baby. You were there. I was there. Wynonna was there. Jeremy was… okay, he was hiding behind a tree for the most part, but totally giving us much needed cheerleader support."

Brown eyes blinked as Nicole met Waverly’s gaze, something not quite adding up. "And… how did we get to the fight from the house? Because we were all there, together, then…."

Laughing, Waverly pulled her taller girlfriend to a stop and stepped in front of her. "Sweetheart, did you bump your head during the fight? You’re acting a little nuts."

Seeing concern begin to cloud Waverly’s eyes, Nicole smiled and shook her head, writing off her worries as nothing. "No, no, I’m fine. Totally fine. Guess I’m just tired, what with everything that’s happened in such a short amount of time."

Swinging back around to Nicole’s side, Waverly nodded as she got them walking towards the house again. "We totally deserve a vacation." Stepping inside her home, she saw her sister already pouring out glasses of whiskey for everyone.

"I swear to God, Jeremy, if you ask me one more time for some girly, fruity cocktail, I’m putting you outside," Wynonna was growling. "Where you will stay all night like a bad puppy, while the rest of us get our drink on."

Nicole watched the volatile brunette hand Jeremy a half full glass and had the sudden urge to knock it away from him, getting the feeling she had to protect him. "Don’t drink that," she murmured.

"Course he’s going to drink it," Wynonna snorted. "What else would you do with good whiskey?"

Hand shooting out, the redhead knocked the glass hard enough that some of the amber liquid spilt on the floor.

"What’s your trauma, Sheriff nutjob?" Wynonna scowled at the frowning woman.

"It’s… you put something in it."

Confused, but stubborn enough to prove a point, Wynonna finished off what was left in the glass and smacked her lips. "Yeah, delicious whiskey." She looked at her sister. "Baby girl, I think you should put Haught-pants to bed, she’s clearly up past her bedtime."

"Wynonna," Waverly sighed, used to playing middleman between the pair and not liking it. "She’s fine. We’re all fine. Let’s enjoy a drink or two and celebrate making it out alive."

"And maybe discuss the ugly ring on Nicole’s ring finger?" Robin threw out from behind the rim of his glass. He wasn’t sure why no one else had said anything, but he wasn’t one to hold back.

The group all looked at Nicole’s hand, or more specifically, her ring finger, where Julian’s ring sat large and bold.

Feeling the weight of their stares and their expectations, the redhead shifted uncomfortably. She wasn’t ready to discuss this; she hadn’t even spoken properly to Waverly yet.

"Whoa, baby girl," Wynonna started, stunned by the revelation she was faced with. Then angry for being kept out of the loop. "Why didn’t you ask my permission like a proper gentleman?" she directed at Nicole. "That’s a thing, right, Doc?"

"I asked her, Wynonna," Waverly patiently explained.

"When were you going to tell me? The next apocalypse?"

Seeing an Earp sibling fight about to break out, Doc picked up the bottle of whiskey, more to protect it from being thrown than anything. "Oh, Lord!" he murmured, moving well out of the way.

"There’s nothing to tell, Wynonna," Nicole said, a second before realising that was the wrong thing to say as she saw the flash of hurt cross Waverly’s face. "I mean uhh…."

"She didn’t give me an answer," Waverly informed them all softly.

Seeing Waverly’s hurt, the group looked at Nicole incredulously.

"Hold up, you been knocking boots with my baby sister for how long and the second she wants you to make her an honest woman, you’re all…" Wynonna flapped a hand at the sheriff. "Dilly-dally, tum-tee-tum, let me think about it?"

"You’ve sampled the cow, it’s only right you buy," Jeremy nodded.

"Jeremy!" Waverly exclaimed, less than impressed with being called a cow.

Embarrassed, he waved a hand apologetically at her. "It’s an expression. One which… I shouldn’t have used. Oh, look, I don’t have a whiskey to hide behind." Reaching out, he took Robin’s glass and polished off what was left, regretting it the second it burned its way down inside him. "Ooh, feel the burn."

"In my day…" Nedley started.

"When the dinosaurs roamed?" Wynonna interrupted, smirking at him.

"It was proper to ask permission. And to court each other in a respectful manner." He shook his head wearily. "None of this twinder and snapapp."

Jeremy’s mouth opened, ready to correct him, but he was stopped by Robin.

"Probably best to leave it," Robin smiled.

"Okay, you adorable idiots should go upstairs and talk this over," Wynonna decided. "Because one of you has to ask my permission and I’m not guaranteeing a yes."

"Wynonna," Doc sighed.

"What? As the older, more beautiful sister of a half-angel…"

"Wynonna," Nedley cautioned.

"All right, as the most important person in Waverly’s life," Wynonna tried.

Waverly rolled her eyes. "I don’t need your permission, Wy. But I would like your blessing." She smiled at her sister. "Not that I got a yes." Her gaze flicked to her girlfriend.

"Yeah, what’s with that?" Wynonna frowned at Nicole.

Nicole swallowed nervously, all eyes on her again. "I just… we just…" She looked at Waverly and exhaled loudly. "We should probably talk."

"Here." Wynonna snatched the bottle of whiskey from Doc and topped up their glasses. "Whiskey to keep you going. We would all prefer if you don’t start bonking loudly, we’re down here trying to celebrate victory."

"Death to Bulshar!" Jeremy cheered.

"Are you drunk?" Robin asked in amusement.

"A little bit."

Taking Nicole’s hand, keen to be away from everyone and their not-so-helpful opinions, Waverly led the way to her bedroom.

* * * * *

Upstairs in Waverly’s bedroom, Nicole looked around at the familiar room, a room she had spent many an hour in, the smell familiar to her, the photos of them on the wall, the cupboard in the far corner which now freaked her out ever since her run in with Jolene.

"So, you don’t want to get married?" Waverly asked softly as she closed the door behind them. She wasn’t sure why she was bothering; the gang were no doubt creeping up the stairs as she spoke, ready to listen to every word.

"It’s not that I don’t want to marry you, Waves. It’s just… it’s too soon."

"Too soon?" Waverly repeated with a disbelieving laugh. "Says the woman who got married in Vegas to someone she had only just met!"

Nicole took a small step towards her girlfriend, wanting to convey her love and that she didn’t want to hurt the other woman. "That was… a life lesson." She took Waverly’s hands in both her own. "Too much has happened recently and… that proposal was…"

"Romantic? From the heart?"

"Completely random," Nicole finished.

Waverly snatched back her hands and folded her arms across her chest defensively. "Random?"

"It was the end of the world, or so we thought. Your mother broke out of prison, caused chaos in town…"

"That was Jolene’s fault."

"Dropped the bombshell that you’re half angel…"

"Actually, Wynonna told me that," Waverly corrected.

"Then she up and left you guys without a word, leaving you to find a letter. Then, because there wasn’t enough going on around here, Doc became a vampire, night didn’t come, everyone left town, I almost died. Again. You found out Charlie was your father, only to see him murdered before you could get any sort of answers to the questions you must have." Nicole took a deep breath, startled by just how much had happened. "And then you proposed. Waverly, it was the wrong time and completely unromantic."

"The world was ending, and I proposed because I love you, how much more romantic do you want it?"

"A nice dinner might have been nice." Nicole’s smile faded as she realised joking wasn’t appropriate right now. "You proposed because you were scared, Waves. Remember what you said? You weren’t going to lose anyone else you loved." She frowned. "Actually, now that I think about it, I don’t think you even proposed."

"Uhh, excuse me!"

"You didn’t," Nicole insisted. "You slipped the ring on my finger and told me you loved me. Not once did you actually say the words."

"I think you’ll find I asked if you said yes."

"To a question you didn’t even voice out loud." Nicole wasn’t sure why their voices were raising, but suddenly, they were in a full-blown shouting match.

"It was implied, Nicole," Waverly replied, like she was talking to a small child who didn’t understand. "Ring on ring finger. Hello!"

"An ugly ring," Nicole muttered. "Are you honestly telling me a week from now, a month from now, if you were to propose you would do it with that ring?"

"That was my father’s ring and you should show it more respect."

Waverly had a way of making her feel guilty. "You’re right, I’m sorry. But…"

Waverly downed her glass of whiskey like a pro and slammed the glass down on the bedside table, fairly sure she heard her sister in the hallway say, "I hope she didn’t just waste that whiskey." She ignored the fact she probably had an audience and looked at Nicole, really looked at her. "I think we should break up."

"What?" Brown eyes widened in bewilderment.

"You heard me. I’m not good enough to marry, so what’s the point of us staying together."

Nicole laughed; certain this was some sort of prank. "You can’t go from proposing to declaring we should break up, Waverly! That’s… that’s…"

"Well, according to someone, Sheriff Nicole Haught, it wasn’t a real proposal anyway!"

"So why are we breaking up?"

"Because real or not you didn’t say yes!" Waverly shook her head. "How quickly did you say yes to Shea, Nicole?"

Nicole shook her head, feeling like she was on a fairground ride that kept spinning her around and around and now she was unsteady on her feet. None of this was making sense. "Why do you keep bringing that up? It was a mistake, there was booze and a big win and at the time…."

"You married her without thought," Waverly interrupted. "I can’t even get a let me think about it. The woman you proclaim to love, the woman whose side you’ll be at as long as she wants you, unless she proposes then all bets are off. No, we’re done, Nicole. I’m not hanging around. There are plenty more… unicorns in the sea." She frowned, confusing herself with that one. "Fish. Lesbians. Whatever."

"Waverly, wait, you’re not serious?"

"I am. I am totally serious." Waverly stepped forward and offered the taller woman her hand. "Good luck in your new role as sheriff. I wish you all the best."

Nicole shook the smaller, soft hand, still convinced this was a prank.

"Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to get some sleep, so you should go. And don’t… don’t call or come by because a clean break is probably best."

"I’m going to go," Nicole said, blinking at Waverly.

"I just told you to."

"But this isn’t real. Because this is nuts. We’ll get some sleep and then evaluate in the morning."

"I’ve already evaluated. Goodbye, Nicole."

Standing stock still for a good few minutes, Nicole finally realised she’d been dismissed. She set her glass of whiskey down on the sideboard and walked over to the closed bedroom door. With her hand on the handle, she glanced back at Waverly. "I do love you, Waverly."

"But not enough."

Exhaling, resigned to her fate, Nicole opened the door and blinked as Wynonna and Jeremy fell inside the room, Doc, Robin and Nedley standing back looking sheepish.

"Told them they shouldn’t have got so close," Nedley commented.

"You’re in my bad book, Sheriff not-so-Haught," Wynonna said, wiggling to get free of Jeremy. "If I see you around…."

"We work at the same police station, Wynonna."

"If I see you so much as crack a smile, I’ll… you’ll be…" Wynonna pointed a finger at the taller woman. "You are warned."

Feeling like she was doing the walk of shame, Nicole made her way past everyone down the stairs and out into the cold dark night. Standing on the back deck, she looked around and remembered she hadn’t driven over that day. She had been at the Gardener residence when she had been stabbed, then because it had made sense at the time, stumbled her way towards the Earp house, needing Waverly, wanting to see her one last time.

She shook her head. "Something doesn’t add up."

* * * * *

It had been a week since the weirdness at the Earp house, a week of her phone calls being sent to voicemail, her messages being ignored, the gang avoiding her. After three days, she had decided Waverly needed some space to think, a little space to realise that something wasn’t right. You didn’t go from being happy together to breaking up out of the blue.

Nicole had busied herself with work and sorting things out around town. People had slowly started trickling back, picking up their lives and carrying on like nothing had happened. She admired and abhorred their ability to stick their heads in the ground and pretend nothing was amiss.

With nothing but work to focus on, she had quickly realised how much paperwork came with being sheriff, and was grateful for it, especially since none of the gang were talking to her.

With a hot coffee in hand, Nicole made her way through the quiet station, heading towards her office. Her actual office, where once upon a time she had made out with Waverly for the first time while Nedley was on his lunch break. Thinking about Waverly and making out with Waverly instantly soured her mood.

Hearing the clomping of boots echoing along the corridor, she looked up and almost smiled when she saw Wynonna approaching. She held off when she saw the deep scowl on the other woman’s face. "Wyno…" She hadn’t expected the punch to the face, but she definitely felt it. Pressing a hand to her now burning cheek, she looked at the brunette with wide eyes. "What the actual hell, Wynonna? Are you drunk?"

"It’s never too early to be drunk," Wynonna replied. "And you deserved that. She’s been crying non-stop for three weeks!"

"It’s only been a week."

"Yeah, well, it feels like three!"

"You can’t just hit me, Wynonna. I’m the sheriff." She could feel her cheek already beginning to swell.

"I’m the sheriff," the brunette mocked. "You have Waverly to thank for me not hurting you."

"You just punched me in the face."

"Yeah, that should probably stay between us," Wynonna smiled sheepishly, her anger fading. "Seriously, Waves asked me not to hurt you and if she finds out I did…" She pulled a face. "Her emotions are all over the place, crying one minute, happy and singing the next, I’m scared what she might do to me."

Nicole digested that information. "Do you think she’s possessed or something? Like the time she touched the goo?"

"Oh, hell no!" Wynonna growled. "You’re not blaming this mess on her, Haught-snot. This is all you not saying yes to the dress. If anyone’s possessed it’s you, everyone says you’ve been acting weird." Her phone pinged and she took it out her pocket to quickly glance at the message. "Anyway, I gotta go. Whiskey to find, doughnuts to eat. Waves just asked me to come by and let you know she has a date tonight. She wanted you aware that she’s moving on. So, if you want to spy tonight’s the night to do it."

Nicole frowned and shook her head at this news. "What do you mean she has a date? You just said she’s a mess, crying one minute and happy the next."

"Yeah. I kinda feel sorry for her date too." Grinning, she leaned in a little closer. "Should probably keep that between us as well." She winked and clicked her tongue. "Anyway, now you know, so my work here is done. Peace out."

Nicole stood watching Wynonna disappear back down the corridor, confused, hurt and bewildered. Three emotions she was feeling a lot lately. Puffing out her cheeks, she continued onwards and into the main office area.

"Oh, Sheriff! What happened? Are you all right?"

Nicole smiled weakly at the desk sergeant. "A run in with Wynonna Earp."

The woman’s concern disappeared. "Well, after what you did to poor Waverly, I’m not surprised. There are plenty in this town who would do the same."

"I didn’t… it wasn’t…" Nicole trailed off and shook her head. "Why is everyone blaming me for this? You do know she broke up with me, right?"

"You plain broke her heart by refusing to marry her, Sheriff. Now you have to suffer the consequences." The woman turned her attention back to her paperwork, leaving Nicole to trudge into her office.

Flopping down into her chair, she exhaled heavily. "This whole town has gone nuts!"

* * * * *

Curiosity getting the better of her and having nothing better to do, Nicole found herself at Shorty’s that night. She had carefully picked out an outfit, telling herself it wasn’t for Waverly’s benefit, and brushed her hair just so, again not for Waverly. Then she had strolled as casually as she could manage into town, having a feeling Waverly and her date would be at Shorty’s and not elsewhere because the bar was a comfortable setting for the youngest Earp.

That was if all this wasn’t a prank. She half expected to walk in and have the gang pointing and laughing at her for falling for it because why would Waverly be on a date?

Entering the bar, she stopped in the doorway, doing a quick sweep of the establishment and feeling her heart stop as she lay eyes on Waverly dressed to the nines in the sexiest gold dress she had ever seen. It clung to the lithe woman in all the right places. Her hair was up, her make-up was flawless, and she was smiling, really smiling, as she made her way over to one of the tables.

Realising that she was drawing attention to herself, Nicole started to move, needing a drink, something strong, because this was real, Waverly was really out on a date with…. She chanced a glance over at the table and almost lost her footing as she lay eyes on a statuesque blonde, who looked for all the world like she had just stepped off the cover of a fashion magazine.

The redhead stumbled into the bar and held on tightly. She thought she might be having a heart attack, or maybe her heart was physically breaking. That could happen, right? If, say, the love of your life suddenly found someone new.

"Officer Haught," Doc greeted. "Whilst I am under strict orders not to fraternise with you in any way, shape, or form, as owner of this establishment it is my duty to sell you booze and take your money."

Forcing herself to look away from Waverly and her date, Nicole blinked slowly at the moustached man. "What?"

Doc smiled sympathetically. He knew from experience how cruel the bow of Cupid could be. "She is quite the looker, isn’t she?" he said softly. "I believe our Waverly is quite smitten."

"Smitten?"

"What can I get you to drink?"

A glass of beer was slammed down on the bar. "I told you no fraternising with the ex," Wynonna said. "Here’s your beer, we hope you choke on it. Though, not really, because God knows who would end up sheriff." She looked at Doc then back to Nicole. "Don’t tell Waverly I said that. She’s made it clear who’s side we’re on."

"Well, I don’t believe…" Doc started.

"All right, so she said we shouldn’t treat the nincompoop any different, she’s still one of the good guys, blah, blah, blah, but we all decided who’s side we were taking." She looked at Nicole. "There was a vote. Jeremy made snacks. Horrendous vegan snacks that I will never eat again. Enjoy your beer."

Nicole watched Wynonna strut away before brown eyes flicked to Doc, who looked apologetic. "It’s fine, Doc. Go." She let out a long, weary sigh as he scurried away, leaving her with a beer, heart ache, and Waverly’s laughter ringing in her ears.

* * * * *

The dejected sheriff spent the evening at Shorty’s, cradling a beer in front of her, eyes never straying from Waverly for long. The youngest Earp was enjoying her date. Nicole could tell because she smiled a lot, laughed a lot, flicked her hair playfully a lot. All of it made the redhead’s heart ache painfully.

"It can’t be over," she muttered. She’d had one beer too many and sorrow had set in. "Out of the blue."

"Are you talking to me, Sheriff?" Pete asked, looking at the redhead with glassy eyes.

Nicole looked at the local. "She dumped me out of the blue and a week later is on a date with someone new. Someone ridiculouloose…" She frowned, fairly certain that wasn’t right. "Ridiculooloosely."

"Ridiculously?" the man enquired.

"Beautiful," Nicole finished with a nod. "After all we shared, all we’ve been through together. The nearly dying, the sister who was kind of a dickhead, the goo! Man, I bet you don’t even know about the goo!"

He didn’t. And at this point he was fairly sure the sheriff was a little insane. "My ex moved out and took everything, even the lightbulbs," he shared. "But I’d have her back in a heartbeat though. When you find a good woman, you don’t just let her go, am I right?" He smiled crookedly at her.

"Something happened," Nicole decided out loud. "In the forest, or before the forest. He did something. He’s put some sort of… spell on them and they’re all acting crazy."

"A spell?" Pete frowned. "Are you feeling all right, Sheriff? You’re talking… crazy talk."

Slapping her palms on the bar-top, Nicole stood up, back straight, eyes shining with determination and too much alcohol. "I’m going to fix it. I’m going to fix them all. I’m the sheriff of this here…" She waved an arm, temporarily forgetting what she was worked up about.

"Town?"

She pointed at him. "You just see if I don’t."

He watched her spin away from the bar, unsteady on her feet after all the alcohol she had consumed throughout the evening, and put up a hand. "Bye then."

* * * * *

Convinced, absolutely convinced that something had happened in the forest on the day they went to fight Bulshar that had made their world turn upside down, or inside out, Nicole started thinking over everything she could remember. She wrote notes, drew diagrams, filled her office with white boards and marker pens, retraced her steps without going on Earp land in fear of being shot at, and after all that, she still couldn’t figure it out.

It had been two weeks since Waverly’s date at Shorty’s and everyone in town was talking about it, was gossiping about how happy Waverly looked, how beautiful the couple looked together, how they hoped the youngest Earp had finally found her one. It all made Nicole want to scream. In fact, she had screamed. Just the once. She had screamed long and loud and when she opened her eyes her desk sergeant was staring at her with wide, scared eyes and she had lied about seeing a humongous spider. Ever since, she had taken to biting the inside of her cheek. Hard.

Deep in thought about the actual day of the battle, Nicole wasn’t looking where she was going as she strode along the street, when someone stepped out of one of the shops and straight into her path. Clattering into the smaller woman, who smelt strangely familiar, Nicole instinctively reached out to steady the other woman, looking up and finding herself looking into the beautiful eyes of one Waverly Earp.

"Oh. Nicole. Hey," Waverly greeted softly.

"Waverly," the redhead breathed, her heart beating normally for the first time in weeks. Just being in Waverly’s presence made everything all right. "I’m sorry, I didn’t see you, I was…."

"It’s fine. It’s probably just as much my fault." Waverly smiled the smile that always made Nicole’s heart skip a beat. "Head full of wedding ideas. Perfect dress, perfect colour matches…."

"Wedding ideas?" Nicole frowned, only then noticing the spilt wedding magazines on the pavement. "Oh, here, let me get those for you." Kneeling to pick up the magazines, she laughed at how many there were. "So, Doc and Wynonna are doing the whole wedding thing, huh? Didn’t think she was the type."

"Why would you think…?" Waverly had a lightbulb moment. "Oh. No, these aren’t… Wynonna’s not getting married, silly. These are for me," she explained. "I’m getting married."

"What? To who?" Bewildered again, Nicole stood up, clutching the magazines tightly.

"To Lane. She’s amazing. She’s everything I ever wanted in a partner, only didn’t know I wanted." Waverly smiled, the look of love on her face. "No offence to you of course, you were… special."

"Lane?" Nicole shook her head. "You’re not talking about the woman you went on a date with the other night?"

"It was two weeks ago actually," Waverly smiled brightly. That dimmed as she shot the redhead a sympathetic look. "I forgot you were there. She’s something isn’t she? She’s…"

"Everything you ever wanted," Nicole muttered. "Yeah, you said."

"There’s no need to be jealous, Nicole," Waverly placated.

"I’m not jealous, Waverly. Just… don’t you think it’s a little quick? You just met her last week."

"Two weeks ago, and not that it’s any of your business, but we’re in love. Real love. You should know all about that, what with how quickly you married Shea."

Nicole shook her head. "That was… we were…."

"Drunk and rash and in Vegas. Yes, you’ve said," Waverly interrupted dismissively. "Anyway, you can’t really turn around and tell me not to jump in so fast when you did exactly that."

"But it didn’t work out. We quickly realised it was a mistake."

"Maybe you don’t have very good judgement," Waverly said compassionately. "I on the other hand do. This isn’t a mistake. Lane is perfect. She’s the one." She smiled again and sighed dreamily. "Wynonna loves her. You should see them together, like two old buddies, drinking and joking around with each other…."

It was too much, it was all too much. Nicole took a step closer to Waverly and lowered her voice. "Waves, I think something is going on. I think something happened that day we fought Bulshar. Something… that caused the world to change."

"Like when the trophy sent Wynonna away?" Waverly asked softly. She frowned. "But Wynonna’s still around. Everyone’s still around. Nothing has changed at all. What makes you think the world has changed?" She was genuinely curious and ready to jump into research mode.

"Seriously?"

"If you don’t tell me what you’ve found out, I can’t help, Nicole. I for one haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary."

"Are you serious right now?" the redhead exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air in frustration. "We broke up out of the blue, you went on one date with some… picture perfect stranger and now you’re carrying bridal magazines around two weeks later. None of this is normal, Waverly!"

"Oh, Nicole," Waverly smiled sympathetically and reached out to affectionately touch the taller woman’s arm. "Is the sheriff’s job too much for you? Is it all weighing down on you and making you act out? Sweetie, no one is acting weird, or nuts, but you."

A car honked its horn as it pulled over close to them.

"Hey, babe. Everything okay?"

Nicole watched as the beautiful amazon stepped out of the car and walked up to_ her_ girlfriend and wrapped an arm around _her_ girlfriend and kissed _her _girlfriend on the top of the head. Nicole was tempted to pull her gun and shoot the woman. She could say the woman threatened her or something, she was sheriff they’d believe her. She was almost sure people would believe her.

"Everything’s fine, Lane. This is the sheriff. We were just… talking."

"Oh, Nicole Haught, right?" The woman smiled and offered her hand. She was even more beautiful up close. "Everyone keeps telling me you’ve had a breakdown. If you ever want to talk, they say sometimes it’s easier to talk to a stranger."

"A breakdown?" Nicole squeaked in horror. Brown eyes flicked to Waverly who wouldn’t meet her gaze. "People are saying that?"

"Well, you broke up with Wavey," Lane said. "You have to be nuts to do that, right?"

"I didn’t break up with Wavey," Nicole growled, watching the woman tighten her hold on Waverly. She fought the urge to lunge at her and rip her away from her girlfriend, her Waverly.

"You wouldn’t marry her, Sheriff. You can’t be upset that she’s found someone who is more than ready to marry her and make her happy for the rest of our lives." She smiled at Waverly. "Lucky me."

"I’m the lucky one," Waverly smiled.

"I want to make her happy for the rest of our lives!" Nicole snapped, feeling nauseous watching them together.

"But you wouldn’t marry her. You can’t have it both ways, Sheriff. You say yes, or you don’t say yes."

"She didn’t say anything," Waverly put in. "Then she claimed my proposal wasn’t a proposal and that it was totally unromantic."

"You are the nicest girl in all of Purgatory, babe. I can’t imagine it wasn’t romantic. Everything you do is magic."

"Oh, goddamn it!" Nicole yelled, throwing her hands up in frustration as she reached her breaking point. "Something doesn’t add up, Waverly. I don’t know why I’m the only one who can see it but I’m going to fix it! You wait and see!"

Waverly and Lane watched the sheriff stomp away, Waverly’s eyes filling with sadness as she watched her ex leave. "She really is losing the plot," she said sadly. Shaking away her despondency, she smiled at her fiancée. "Come on, we’ve got a wedding to plan!"

* * * * *

For all the time she put in, Nicole could not figure out exactly where things had gone wrong. She was still convinced it had something to do with Bulshar. She just couldn’t find the proof. Not even after threatening Jeremy into helping her. He in turn had requested Doc’s help, who had trekked back into the forest looking for any signs that things were amiss and coming up empty.

Meanwhile life in Purgatory continued. The townsfolk were all excited about Waverly’s wedding to Lane, everyone walking around smiling and commenting it was going to be a sight to see – little Waverly Earp finally settling down to a life of happiness. Nicole tried to avoid conversations with any of them when possible.

Now, the sheriff was sat behind her desk, her head in her hands, groaning in dismay. With no evidence of anything being wrong, she couldn’t approach Waverly again to ask for help. In fact, she couldn’t ask anyone for help because they all thought she had lost the plot.

"Uhh, Sheriff?" Marilyn called out from the doorway. Despite being worried about her boss, she was disturbed by Nicole’s behaviour and had taken to steering clear of the redhead.

"Yeah?"

"Bunny Loblaw requested you go over to discuss some things with her."

"Bunny Loblaw can kiss my…." Lifting her head, Nicole saw her desk sergeant hovering nervously by the door and realised quite suddenly how seriously people were taking the rumours about her craziness. "I’m not crazy, Marilyn. I know that’s what people are saying, but I’m fine."

"Well…."

"Just…" She stood up and beckoned the woman inside the office as she moved around her desk. "For a minute, think about how insanely fast Waverly is rushing into marrying the too-good-to-be-true Lane. I mean, where did she even come from? She’s not one of us, right?"

"I heard she was from Phoenix," Marilyn said unhelpfully. "And she fits right in around here. Everyone adores her."

"That in itself is crazy!" Nicole groaned. Shaking her head, determined not to get distracted from her point, she sat down on the sofa and pulled the desk sergeant down next to her. "And them rushing to get married so soon after Waverly broke up with me. You don’t think that’s a little… suspicious?"

The woman blinked. "I… I suppose. But they seem happy, Sheriff."

"We were really happy!" Nicole exclaimed loudly, startling the poor woman. "Sorry, I’m sorry." She patted the nervous woman’s hand. "Strange things happen in this town, Marilyn. I know no one talks about it, but it’s odd. Real odd. And this is one of those odd things. You love Waverly, right?"

"Uhh…."

"The whole town loves Waverly. You made her a sash to prove it. And you would all hate to see something bad happen to her, right? I think this could be some sort of… demon… who has…" Nicole searched for the right words, "…bewitched her and is plotting to take her as its bride!" Brown eyes went wide at the thought. "You wouldn’t want to play a part in that, would you, Marilyn?"

"Waverly’s at the bridal shop looking for the perfect dress," Marilyn blurted out. "Go save her, Sheriff!" Her voice was high and laced with panic.

Nicole stood up tall, back straight, determination shining in slightly crazed brown eyes. "On it, Marilyn. Let’s get our Waverly back!" With purposeful strides, she strode across her office and out the door and straight into Jeremy and his hot mug of coffee. "AHHHH, SHIT, JEREMY!"

Wide eyes looked at Nicole’s chest a second before he reached out to try and pat her dry. "Sorry, Nicole. You came out of nowhere."

"Yeah, maybe stop touching my boobs, Jeremy." Nicole swotted him away from her and reached out for a box of tissues on a nearby desk. "Are you looking for me?"

"I heard a piece of gossip I thought you might want to hear. Waverly’s…"

"At the bridal shop trying on dresses. Yeah, I was just told." She dabbed at the spreading coffee stain on her once perfectly clean, starched shirt. "I was just on my way over to talk some sense into her once and for all."

Smiling brightly, he held his novelty mug up at her in a salute. "Go get her, Nikki-noo!"

Taken in by his enthusiasm, Nicole ignored the horrid nickname and smiled, dimples popping for the first time in ages. "I will. I damn well will." Throwing the soggy brown tissues at the nearest bin and missing, she didn’t let the disappointment stop her. She had a girl to win back.

She strode out of the main office and started along the corridor, turning the corner straight into Wynonna and her oozing doughnut. She stared down at the sticky red stain in disbelief. "This day just keeps getting better."

"What’s up, Haught-mess? Looking a little…" Wynonna waved the hand holding the doughnut about, "…dishevelled. Usually you’re on your game, perfectly pressed clothes, hair brushed, not a stain in sight. Today, something’s…" She pointed at the coffee stain. "You’ve got a little something."

Nicole watched doughnut filling drip to the floor and scowled at the brunette. "You’re cleaning that up," she ordered in a voice that told Wynonna not to argue with her. "And I would stay here to supervise, but I have to get over to the bridal shop."

"Oh, yeah, Waves is over there trying on dresses," Wynonna smiled brightly. "Help her pick a good one." She watched the redhead march off and shook her head sadly. "How far she has fallen." Then she got distracted by her doughnut and continued along the corridor indulging in the sweet treat.

Nicole shoved open the police station door, muttering angrily to herself and drawing curious and worried looks from those passing by. "I’m fine," she snapped. "Everything is fine."

"O-okay, Sheriff."

Shoving a hand in her pocket, she groaned as she realised she’d forgotten her keys in her haste to leave. Rather than going back inside, she decided to walk to the bridal shop. It wasn’t that far and what could go wrong?

She was halfway there when the sky turned black and fat droplets of rain started thundering down.

"Of course!" Nicole laughed manically, looking up at the sky. "Because why not, right?" Her answer was a raindrop straight in the eye, making her curse at the stinging. People started scurrying out of her way as they saw her coming, seeing the state she was in, the slightly crazy look on her face. She was stained, squinting, and had the look of a drowned rat with her hair plastered down and clothes soaked through.

Reaching the bridal shop, for reasons she couldn’t fathom, she started hammering on the front bay window to get Waverly’s attention. "WAVERLY!" she shouted out desperately, channelling Rocky. "WAVERLY!"

The vision of Waverly Earp in the perfect wedding dress appeared in the window, her eyes wide with bewilderment, mouth dropping open slightly to form a perfect ‘o’. "Nicole? What are you doing here?" Her gaze trailed down and up the redhead’s body. "What happened to you?"

Mrs. Threadgoode, owner of the shop appeared over Waverly’s shoulder and looked horrified as she took in the appearance of the sheriff. "I think she’s finally snapped. Ida, grab the shotgun."

"Don’t marry her, Waverly. It’s a mistake."

* * * * *

"It’s a mistake! Don’t marry her!"

"Haught-sauce?"

That sounded like Wynonna, but that wasn’t right. Why would she be here?

"Come on, Haught-to-trot, wake up."

It was definitely Wynonna.

"Nicole? Goddamn it, I need you to stop sleeping on the job and wake up. Get with it, Sheriff!"

Groaning, Nicole shifted and found that her head ached, and her body ached, and she had no real recollection for why. "Wynonna? What’s…? Where…? Why are you here?" She groaned again as her stomach flip-flopped.

"Here to rescue your helpless butt!" the brunette replied. "With the help of Nedley. You see, times are bad, I’m partnered up with Nedley. Now get up, we need to get out of here."

Blinking open groggy brown eyes, Nicole didn’t recognise her surroundings, but she did recognise Randy Nedley helping Jeremy and Robin to their feet. She sat up and winced as she lifted a hand to her head. "What’s going on, Wynonna? Where’s Waverly?"

Standing up, Wynonna helped the redhead to her feet, holding onto her arms as the taller woman swayed unsteadily. "Not now, Nicole. Let’s get to safety before we start with the heavy stuff."

Shaking the cobwebs from her mind, concern for Waverly came to the forefront of her thoughts and Nicole pulled them to a stop. Sure, they were probably in danger, but she didn’t care, not until she knew Waverly was okay. "Wynonna, where’s Waverly? With Lane? I really messed up. I never should have let her break up with me and…."

Wynonna frowned, completely bamboozled. "No idea what you’re talking about, Red. Last time I checked, you two were all loved up and gross as ever." She started tugging Nicole towards the open double doors.

"But after we defeated Bulshar we went back to the homestead to celebrate…" Nicole tried to explain, even more confused than ever. "I upset you. I upset Waverly. We broke up. You punched me."

"That does sound like me." Realising the other woman wasn’t going to cooperate until she got some sort of answer, Wynonna sighed and stopped, turning to face the taller woman. "Nicole, I don’t know how hard you hit your head, but you and Waverly didn’t break up. You didn’t help defeat Bulshar. I drugged you. All of you. You, Jeremy and Robin. Not Waverly. She came with me."

"I didn’t…" Nicole frowned again. "You drugged me?"

"I drugged all of you."

"I’m an officer of the law, Wynonna!"

Wynonna rolled her eyes and started tugging the redhead towards the doors again.

"If Waverly went with you, where is she now? Where am I now? Wynonna, what’s going on?"

* * * * *

Seated in the Gardener’s spacious living room, the fire burning brightly to warm them all, everyone watched Wynonna pacing back and forth. Being a proper hostess, Mercedes had supplied them all with alcohol and now sat off to the side listening to the latest madness in interest. Life as part of Wynonna’s inner circle was certainly never dull.

"What do you mean Waverly’s in the garden?" Nicole asked, hands clenched. Her first instinct was to get up and storm to the staircase and rescue her girlfriend herself. She waited. She needed all the details first. A well thought out plan was needed.

"It took her," Wynonna confessed quietly.

"It?" Jeremy asked.

"Something." The brunette shrugged. "It looked like… a jungle vine or… something. I don’t know, I was a little… out of it because of the snake venom and all. I don’t have the answers."

They gave her a moment to compose herself, all of them aware of how much Waverly meant to her. Knowing none of this was easy on her.

"And Doc?" Jeremy was the first to ask.

"Went in after her," Wynonna sighed. "Said he’d protect her."

Nicole took a deep breath. _I knew it. I knew none of what was happening made sense. And here we are. Another situation that needs fixing._

"I went back to the homestead looking for you guys and you were all gone," Wynonna was explaining. "Valdez had been scratched into the wall and the only person I could find was Nedley, who lucky for me, was up for a fight."

Nicole leaned forward and clasped her hands together, trying not to think about Waverly being lost somewhere, only Doc to protect her. "So, what’s the plan, Wynonna?"

Wynonna smiled at the cop who had grown on her, who loved her baby sister in a way she deserved to be loved, who offered to help in any situation even when she probably shouldn’t. "We arm up and go rescue them. Any objections?"

Mercedes raised a dainty hand. "I’m not much of a fighter. Maybe I’ll stay here and prepare refreshments for when you get back. Losing a face and nearly ending up married to the same bad guy twice kinda makes a girl want to stay in the safety of her own home. But I’ll be here cheering you on. Promise." She smiled.

"I want whiskey," Wynonna declared. "A shit load."

"Done."

Standing at the open front door of her home, Mercedes watched the strange group of misfits head off for battle once again and pitied whoever had Waverly Earp. They were about to learn how loved the half-angel was.

**The End**.

**Author's Note:**

> Just joined twitter @Hartley_Blaze, I have no idea what I'm doing, so if you wanna come give me some tips I would very much appreciate it; wanna share your thoughts about this fic great; but if you're an avocado just looking to tell me how in fashion you are forget it buddy!


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